The New Wonderland
by Panda91593
Summary: Read if you'd like. The revised version is uner the name Time is Running Out
1. Chapter 1

New FIC! _**THIS IS NOT A SYFY ALICE FANFIC **_but instead it is a fanfic using the basis of Lewis Carol's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland but with my own story. Very similar to what the creators of SYFY ALICE did with the miniseries.

Please Read on.

Disclaimer: I do not own Alice in Wonderland I do how ever own my original ideas.

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"I just need the answers to life!" I call out looking about the forest I'm standing in. I like to come here and think on my days off from my college classes.

I hear a ringing in the distance. It sounds almost like an old time telephone I saw in a movie once at my grandma's house when I was ten.

"Maybe it has the answers." I joked running deeper into the trees that surrounded me.

The snow flew up around my legs as I picked up the pace. The ringing got louder as I drew closer. Then I saw it, the phone. It was actually a phone hanging on a tree in the middle of the forest. When I looked around I couldn't see that it was connected to anything at all.

"How can it be ringing?"

The phone continued to ring. I picked it up and hesitantly held the receiver up to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Alice."

"No."

"You are a poor liar."

"Excuse me? Who is this?" I ask offended.

"I can see you Alice."

"What? How can you see me?" I demand looking around wildly. I saw no one.

"Goodbye Alice."

"What?! Who is this?! How do you know my name?! How is this phone even working?!" I scream into the receiver.

I slam down the receiver. "How strange."

I look around now, conscience that I might be watched. I see a pile of old junk sitting in a pile by a shoveled path.

I go over to it and glance about at it. It wasn't mine and for all I know it could be dangerous or something. A shattered mirror sat on the top of the junk. I could see my face in six different angles.

A laugh vibrated off the trees around me and my head shot up. I looked about but still saw nobody.

"I'm weird-ed out. This is a stupid prank!" I say aloud and run for the road up above me.

I shut the door behind me and lock it. I look at the picture of my parents. They died six years ago now. I was only 16 then, it was hard living alone. Even harder when there's a sick joke being played on you and you haven't got anyone to run to.

I leaned against the door and looked about for some sort of comfort.

"I could call David." I say reaching for my house phone.

A knock at the door scarred the shit out of me. It was loud and unfriendly, definitely one I didn't know.

I grabbed a vase off of the staircase by the door and hold it up like a bat.

"H-hello?" I yell, eyes locked on the door.

The handle shakes violently. There wasn't an answer.

"Hello!" I yell louder and grip my vase tighter.

"Open the door Alice." A voice from the other side demanded.

"Who is it?!"

"It's David." The voice calls in a monotone voice.

I still don't believe it's him. I grab a small monitor off the stairs and flip it on. The cam links up to the peek hole in the door. The technology is similar to that of a car with the camera on the back to see while your backing out.

I look out on the intruder and see that it's clearly not David. This person has no facial features, just the outline of a face and stark white skin with an ace set where a nose would be.

"Come on Alice. Open the door." It said shaking the handle again.

I inched close to the basement door under the stairs and opened it silently. I creeped down the stairs after locking the door behind me. I open the door at the bottom and entered the basement, locking that door behind me as well. The door and the entire room was steel plated because my parents had used it as a panic room when they were still alive.

I looked at the monitor in my hand and saw that the door had been opened and the cam was now looking at the kitchen. I began to shake slightly and went to a large wooden cupboard.

Throwing back the doors I dug through the shelves of cans and boxes searching for the pistol my father kept hidden behind here when I was little.

I found it and a box of bullets along with it. I hadn't actually had any training in firing a gun before but I'm sure I could do it if I had to.

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Okay guys! Tell me what you think! I got this idea after I watched Alice on Syfy and then saw a random old-time telephone hanging on a tree in the forest behind my best-friend's house. Let me know what all of you think. This is sort of a fanfic off of the book but with my own story to it. Similar to what the creators of Alice on Syfy did with the story.

READ REVIEW!

k thx bye ~ Yuf


	2. Chapter 2

Second Chapter.

Please keep reading everyone.

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I opened a door against the east wall and sat down inside with the door shut. I held the gun close to my chest, ready to aim and fire at anything that moved.

I sat in silence for a good ten minutes before I realized that the closet space I was sitting in had not been completely dark. There was a light coming from beneath the floor boards. I felt the sides of the small enclosure and sure enough I found a switch. I flicked it and the floor fell out from under me. I toppled down a small stair case and slammed into a dirt wall.

The room was just tall enough for me to stand up. A small clap and the floor I fell through closed over.

I had never seen this area before. I think it was only supposed to be temporary and that's why it was only dirt and not bricked in. I looked around for the light source and found it. It was peeking through a slit in what seemed to be the wall.

As I approached it I saw that there was a cover over the light and it wasn't the wall, but instead it was a large mirror. I pulled the cover and exposed a mirror as tall as I was.

It shined and shimmered like water. I couldn't see my reflection, but only a watery surface. I touched it and my hand went straight though. I snatched my hand away immediately and held it close to my chest.

The glass felt like water and was freezing cold. I was going to throw a dirt clod through it when I was drawn to the sound of feet above me.

It sound like at least six men walking around. Their voices were muffled and I couldn't understand anything they were saying. It was only a matter of time before they found out I was down lower.

It was then that I realized I left the bullets for the gun up above. I popped the clip out of the gun and saw I only had two bullets loaded into it. My only choice was to take on these guys if they found me, with two bullets, or try to go through the mirror. This sounded absolutely absurd but in this instance it made perfect sense.

I stuck my hand through the glass again and felt around. There wasn't any objects in the way, so I suppose that meant it was safe to go through.

I felt something grab my wrist just before I was going to pull my hand out. Something was pushed into my hand and I snatched it away quickly. There was a small note pushed into my palm.

Upon opening it I read YOU HAVE ONE MINUTE. I ran into the mirror and the cold set into my skin like a blanket of ice.

I opened my eyes but everything was a total blur around me and I could see nothing but bright lights. I don't remember landing on anything or being moved but when I came to there was an old man standing over me with a flashlight and I was laying on what felt like a bed or a couch.

He squawked in an unknown language and pinching my cheeks.

"Hey!" I yell pushing of the old man.

When I got a good look at him he seemed to look like a mouse. He had round ears that stuck off the side of his head and a mustache that stuck out every which way, much like a mouse's whiskers. He was a short, thin man dressed in an oversized gray coat. I could swear the faint smell of cheese wafted by my nose.

I hold up the note and thrust it towards the mousy man. "Did…you give….this…to…me?"

"He can't speak your language."

I spun to see a man leaning in a doorway behind me. He was fairly tall, 6'0 give or take an inch. His hair was black and didn't see to have been brush in a long time. It was cut in the strangest way. There was longer pieces behind his ears, around twelve inches long and got short to the back till in was only two or three inches long. From the ear length it got shorter to the front and stopped at around four inches. He had a hat on the top of his head that was a dark gray and had a navy band across the center.

"Who are you?" I asked looking him over.

"What gives you the right to question me? I do believe you landed in my house. So, who are you?"

"I'm Alice O'Malley."

The mousy man looked at the man in the doorway and then ran out of the room.

The door way man walked towards me. "I'm…" he glanced back to the doorway. "Never mind my name. People call me the Mad Hatter."

"So you're crazy?"

"No. They call me that because I'm a risk taker. They say I'm mad, out of my mind, because I go to daring feats to get what I want."

"The Hatter is because of your hat?" I say pointing to the gray hat on his head.

"No. My last name is Hatter, no connection to the hat upon my head. But you are more than welcome to call me Hatter."

The mousy man ran into the room holding an old ratty looking photo. He handed it to Hatter.

He handed the photo to me. "Do you know this man?"

I looked down at the photo and saw that it was my father. He was holding a child of ten on his shoulders, but the child wasn't me. "It's my father." I say quietly.

"The child is the current prince of Wonderland. We need your help Alice." Hatter said taking the photo and handing it back to the mousy man.

"Wonderland? That's a children's book. What joke is this?" I say laughing and glancing at the mousy man who had become deadly serious.

"This is not a children's story."

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Review please.

k thx bye ~Yuf


	3. Chapter 3

Third installment. READ!

Disclaimer: Y'know...

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I spoke with Hatter for a while and learned that the mousy man's name was Dormis. I also learned that my parents had not died in a car crash like I had been told. My father worked for the government, and I knew that, I just didn't know what he did. I turns out he had been assigned to a special mission that had to do with the location and destruction of the mirrors which lead to Wonderland. My father smuggled one of these mirrors he was supposed to be destroying into our home and used it to visit Wonderland for nearly 20 years. The government found out about this and when my father and my mother tried to cover everything up they were killed by the government so that the secret about the mirrors would not get out.

The government must have searched my house for the mirror when I went to live with Grandma for two weeks after their death. Apparently they never found the mirror in the hidden room,stupid government officials.

"your father showed the mirrors to the Prince when he was young. They used to travel to our world through them." Hatter said.

"Wait, so there's more of these mirrors in the world? There was only one in the children's book."

"Only one was depicted in that silly novel. The author must have found one of the mirrors and wrote about who he met and what he saw here in Wonderland. That was hundreds of years ago I'm sure, and Wonderland is no longer that wacky and fun place." said Hatter grabbing a book off of the floor. "I've read it. The man depicted in here as the Mad Hatter was my great grandfather. This book did nothing but make fun of him and his friends, which by the way, were not animals that talked. That's completely absurd."

"You said you need my help. I don't understand how I can help if I don't know a thing about this place." I mutter looking at the book in his hands.

"The Prince was angered when your father stopped visiting him. He has started a world wide search for him to have him killed."

"That doesn't make sense. My father is already dead." I say looking up at Hatter.

"I know this. I was close with your father before his death. I need you to tell the Prince that your father is dead and he can no longer come to visit." said Hatter standing up and walking to the mirror I had come through. "I was directed by your father to watch over you while you grew up. That's how I knew the cards would show up to your home in search of you."

"You've been watching me?" I ask hesitantly.

"Yes. I know that sounds strange, but I have."

"So you were the one on the phone in the forest?"

"What phone?" Hatter asks, his head jerking towards me.

"There was a phone I answered in the forest. The person on the other end knew my name and everything. He said he was watching me." I say shaking.

Hatter slammed his fist against the wall behind the mirror. "I never called you. It had to of been the Prince. Did you see anything else around the phone?"

I shake my head slowly. "No."

Hatter goes to Dormis and whispers in his ear. Dormis runs out of the room again and doesn't returns with a small map.

"Wait!" I yell. The two men turn towards me and look on with interest. "There was a pile of junk a few yards away. There was a broken mirror on top of it. Was that a mirror portal thingy?"

"Did you see anything come out of it?"

"No. I did hear laughter shortly after though, that's when I ran home."

"That must have been the Cards' portal. Listen, Alice, the Prince has sent Cards to find and kidnap you." Hatter said pushing the map back into Dormis' hands and walking over to me.

"Why would he want to kidnap me?" I ask standing up.

"He wants to hold you as a bartering object. It would bring your father to him, that is, if he were actually alive."

"We need to get out of here. I don't want to be here is the Cards come through that mirror." said Hatter picking up a waist length black coat and putting it on.

He walked out of the room and I followed after him. Dormis stayed behind and shut the door to the room. I followed Hatter out onto an all grass front lawn. I turned around to see the house I came from and saw it was just appeared to be a tool shed.

There were plants almost twelve feet tall standing all around and they gave off the appearance of trees. The grass was long and there were little squirrels running about chasing each other.

"Are you coming?" called Hatter from the road.

I looked up to see him and saw a brand new, black, 2009 Chevy Camaro. I went over to the car and looked at it for a moment. "How did you get this Hatter?" I ask.

"The police can't find a car that is in a world that technically doesn't exist. Now can they?" smiled Hatter as he unlocked it.

"How did you get it here?" I ask hesitantly as I open the door and sat down in the passengers seat.

"A mirror of course."

I was quiet as he started the engine. I wasn't sure of where we were going, but I didn't have any choice but to go with Hatter.

As we drove along a winding dirt road I began to see that there wasn't anyone else around the area, just us. "Since I know you're actually Jackson's daughter, you can call me Addie. It was what your father called me for short. Not really sure how he came up with it though. I guess it was a mix of Mad and Hatter." said Hatter, or Addie.

We entered a city. It was dark and everything looked wet. This was absolutely terrible, there weren't even any people on the streets, in fact it seemed like this city was deserted.

"Addie. Where are all the people?"

"Their dead or they've become the Princes slaves." Addie said swerving to miss a body that was laying in the road.

I glanced out my window to see an old man laying on the road in a heap. There wasn't any blood or disfigurement, he was just dead.

"Don't look at it." said Addie speeding up as I continued to look back at it. I got swept up by a large truck that resembled a garbage truck from my world. Only the crushing teeth things were on the bottom to pick things up. "I said don't look Alice."

I turned back again, despite what Addie had said, and saw the truck coming towards us rapidly. "Uh...It's following us!"

The car jerked to the left and we headed down a narrow alleyway. "The only way to get away from that thing to to distract it." He shut the car off and pushed my head down until it was nearly touching the car floor. "Stay. Down. What ever happens, you have to get to the Prince." Addie got out of the car and ran out to the street. I could hear him yelling.

"Hey! I'm right here! Look here!" He was drawing the trucks attention.

I got out of the car and looked at Addie flailing in the street. "Addie!" I screamed. "Get out of there!"

Addie wouldn't move, he continued to stand there and jump up and down. The truck smashed into him and he was gone in a second.

"Hatter!!!"

My screams made me deaf to the world. I didn't hear anything else around me. How was I supposed to find the Prince now? I don't know my way around this place. Addie was gone, who was I supposed to go to? How was I supposed to get home?

I walked away from the car and proceeded farther down into the alley way. The light grew dimmer as I move along and I saw that night was somehow setting in. It didn't make sense, because when we had left Addie's house it was noon. The sun was right above us.

There weren't anymore people after the dead man in the street. All the shops and homes appeared to be looted and the windows were broken out of them. I began to fear for my life as I checked over my shoulder every ten seconds looking for that truck.

The street I was on seemed to go on forever. I couldn't see any twists or turns. Matter of fact I couldn't even see the end of the street, it just kept going on into darkness. The darkness that was ever creeping up on me. As the darkness approached I could hear sounds coming form within the looted buildings. It sounded like animals scrambling about, large animals.

It was freezing when nightfall finally took over. It was then I realized I didn't have my coat anymore. Where was it? I stopped abruptly and looked about. I had been walking in complete darkness. There weren't any street lights or anything. I held my hand up to my face and saw nothing but black.

_"Why didn't I take the fucking car?!"_

I looked around in a panic, searching for any signs of life or light. None. Nothing. I was the only person in this darkness. It was just me and the sounds from the looted buildings. who knew what could be in there.

I didn't know what else to do, so I ran as fast I could. I kept tripping on things, I didn't look back and I never apologized. I'm not sure I wanted to know what I was tripping over.

I saw lights ahead and realized they were headlights from truck. I ducked down and watched as the head lights approached. I realized it wasn't the truck that hit Addie. I stepped out from my hiding place and stepped onto the road. "Hey!" I called waving my arms about.

The truck sped up like it was going to hit me. I jumped out of the way and stood by a pile of what smelled like garbage.

The truck drifted into a half circle so it was facing the direction it had come. The passenger door opened and the person from inside spoke. "Get in."

I didn't bother to hesitate as I hopped up into the truck. I saw that the driver was Addie. "Addie!" I yelled shutting the door. "How are you even alive!?"

"Not important. We need to get out of here. There are Cards on their way."

We took off into the darkness. The head lights barely made an indent on the darkness. I flipped on the over head light in the truck and looked over at Addie. He was bloody as hell and it looked as thought he had been in a fight with a tiger. For all I know, he could have been.

"What, happened?"

"I said it's not important." said Addie pushing on the gas.

"And I asked what happened. I want to know what I might be up against."

"You won't have to fight. Trust me."

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End Chapter

Review! Always love those, and I haven't gotten many on here. Please!

k thx bye~ yuf


	4. Chapter 4

F-BOMB ALERT!

Fourth Installment. Tell your friends.

Disclaimer: Y'know...

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"Who fucked you up?!" I demanded slamming my fists on the dashboard. I could swear I heard the plastic crack under my fists.

"It's not important dammnit! Would you just shut up and let me drive?!" yelled Hatter as we smashed into a cluster of garbage cans.

I looked up and saw two people standing in the road. Both of them were dressed in what looked like untied restraint jackets that are used in insane asylums. They had on white pants that came over their shoes. One was a male and the other was a female. The female had her head tilted and her hair was in pigtails. The male was standing upright and his hands were behind his back, his hair was long and pulled back in a low ponytail.

"Hatter! Up ahead!" I scream pointing at the windsheild. "You're going to hit them!"

"That's my goal." Hatter muttered and the truck lurched forward.

I covered my eyes and leaned back against the seat, I could feel the seat springs pushing against my back. I never felt us collide with anything, in fact it felt like we had just kept going straight. I peeked over my hands and looked out the window, I only saw the road. "Where are they?" I ask hesitantly looking over at Hatter.

Hatter spun the truck completly around and there I saw the duo again, in the same spot, waiting in the street.

"You missed?! How the fuck did you miss?! They were right there!" I scream. Then I look up and see the girl is gone. "Where is she." that wasn't a question, it was demanding statement.

"I didn't miss, they jumped. She's coming."

"Who the hell are they?!" I cry in disbelief. My head darted in every direction all at once. My eye caught sight of something in the door window, but I was afraid to look back. Something deep inside me knew it was the girl from the road.

A blood curdling cackle sounded from the window, it grew louder and louder. "I'm going to get you Alice and kill your pretty Addie too." The voice was high pitched and I could swear it froze my blood.

"Alice. Don't look out your window." Hatter said facing the windshield and stepping on the gas.

"They screwed you up, didn't they Hatter?" I ask as I hear a banshee like scream from behind the truck. There was aloud thud on top of the trucks cab.

"Yes. The guy is after me and the girl is after you. I told you Alice, this is not the Wonderland you read about in the book."

"Who are they?" I ask looking at the ceiling of the cab, worried that at any minute the man would come through.

"They're Jokers, hired assassins. They aren't part of the Cards that work for the Prince. Instead they are free-lance workers who will go to any length to carry out their given task."

"So, if we kill them, then we're free." I state turning my head to see Hatter.

"In theory."

"Theory?"

"There's rumors that they aren't even alive. It's said that their mere corpses that are marionetted by a devious man. Though, I'm not entirely sure how true these rumors are." said Hatter. His hands shifted on the wheel and I saw his knuckles were snow white.

I was silent. I didn't know what to say to him. If it was true and they were dead corpses, then there wasn't anyway that we could kill them, and they would forever hunt us until their job was finished.

"A-Alice. I-I don't know if I can save us. I'm sorry I brought you here. T-This is all my fault. I-I don't know wh-what thier going to do to you, but I-I know thier going to kill me if they catch me."

I looked at Hatter and saw he was shaking all over, and he was stifling a sob. His grip on the wheel had become tighter and his face was hardened, I saw a trickle of blood coming out of a cut by his right eyebrow. "We'll be okay Hatter." I began to shake as well, knowing I was pretty much lying to him and myself.

"I've failed. I can't fulfill the promise I made to your father. I-I can't protect you."

"You did your best Addie." I say looking down at my feet.

"My real name is Theophilus Carter Hatter. Just, just please remember that if you make it out alive. Promise me you'll remember it." Hatter said as we veered right and went off road into a field of weeds.

I was confused. Why did I need to remember that? "O-okay. I will remember."

"If I'm killed by the Jokers I wont' have a headstone, my family's name will be forgotten if I'm not identified. I need you to make me a headstone, that's why I told you my name." Hatter said clearing up my confusion.

The two of us drove on in silence for a while, there weren't even sounds from outsides. I could feel the fear growing in the small truck cab, I could almost smell the anticipation.

"It's been quiet for to long." said Hatter.

"I know." I mouthed, my voice was hardly audible. "What will we do when we run out of gas?"

Hatter swallowed hard and kept his focus on the weeds ahead of us. "We face them."

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END CHAPTER

Shorter than normal, I know. REVIEW!

k thx bye ~yuf


	5. Chapter 5

Fifth Installment! Tell your friends! Tell your family! Tell your neighbor!

Disclaimer: Y'know....

Rating was knocked up to M for language

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"We're going to die, aren't we Hatter?" I ask as I feel the burn of tears welling up behind my eyes. The darkness is becoming easier to see in, we had been driving in silence all night long.

"I'm going to die. I don't know what will happen to you. They will probably take you to the Prince." said Hatter as the engine began to sputter. The gas was getting dangerously low.

In attempts to change the subject I turn to Hatter and ask, "Should I call you Theo now or something?"

"Just call me Hatter. Addie just reminds me of your father, and how I've let him down."

The engine began slowing as the sun crept over a hill in the distance and shown light on the landscape. We came to a creeping halt in the middle of the field of weeds that never seemed to end all night. "It's dead." I say stating the completely obvious.

Hatter rested his head on the wheel. "It's only a matter of time. There's no use in running on foot."

"Maybe they gave up?" I ask smiling a force smile.

"Maybe." said Hatter glancing over at me, his head still resting on the wheel.

"Yeah." I choked out and then began to cry. My nose was running and I let my head fall on to the dashboard.

Hatter swallowed hard and turned to look out the front window. He stared straight ahead like he was set in stone. "I'm getting out of the truck."

"What?" I asked wiping my nose with my upper arm and sitting up straight.

"I said I'm getting out of the truck."

"Why? You said it was no use to run." I said confused.

"I didn't say I was going to run." said Hatter. "I'm going to check if they're there."

"That's suicide." I mutter under my breath.

"Suicide is holding a gun in your mouth and pulling the trigger. This, this is my inevitable fate. I'm already doomed." said Hatter stepping out of the truck and shutting the door.

I looked out the rear window for the first time and saw only Hatter walking around to the back of the truck. He released the flatbed door and sat on it. He waited patiently without making a noise. I turned away from him and faced the windshield.

There was a shift in the truck and a slight thumping. Someone was knocking on the glass of the back window. I was scared to turn around, for fear that it might be one of the Jokers. The tapping became more persistent and I turn slowly to see who it was.

It was just Hatter. Thank the gods. "Come out." he said smiling.

I opened the door and stepped out. The weeds came up over my knees as I trudged to the back of the truck. Hatter pulled my up into the flatbed. "Look there." he said pointing to a tree a few yards away.

"What is it?" I ask, squinting to see what exactly was up with the tree.

"They're over there. Dead." said Hatter, a smile in his voice.

"Dead? How?"

"I went and looked. Judging by the fact that their head were a few feet from their bodies, I assume they're dead."

"Well that's good." I say trying to get a better look from my position.

"Yes, it's good they're dead. Unfortunately the rumors are true."

"How? You just said they were dead."

"Yes, but there wasn't any blood, only stuffing. It seems that if the head is removed from the body, then they become nothing more than a lifeless doll." said Hatter as he picked at some dried blood on his forehead.

"Interesting...What do we do now?"

"I have no doubt that the puppet master with rear his ugly head soon enough to find out where and what happened to his precious dolls. We should get moving." said Hatter jumping out of the truck bed.

I followed his example and then looked around. "Which direction?"

Hatter opened the passenger cab door and reached around under the seats for something. He withdrew a crow-bar and a jack handle, he tossed the crow-bar at me and I caught it. "We go forward. If we're where I think we are, then we'll make it to the White Quarry soon."

* * *

It wasn't far till we reached the White Quarry, only about twenty yards from the truck. It was a good thing that it died when it did, or we could have gone off the side of the quarry.

"Why are we coming here anyways?" I ask looking over at Hatter who was inspecting a cluster of rocks for us to climb down on.

"It the most confusing place in Wonderland, and I know some people who live here."

I look down into the quarry. All the rocks in it were stark white and covered in thick white jungle like over growth. There were rock formations jutting out in random places and it was overall, huge. I couldn't even see the other side. "Someone lives down here?" I ask, straining my eyes to see any signs of life. No luck.

"Plenty of people do. Mostly runaways, fugitives, and criminals." said Hatter jumping down onto a ledge.

"Why can't the Cards find people here?" I ask lowering myself down slowly.

"Well, for one, it's extremely easy to get lost because it's so huge, and everything looks the same. Two, these rocks are extremely magnetic and emit mass amounts of electromagnetic radiation. Another words, anything electric comes to close to here, it goes haywire. Anything metal just gets sucked in."

"Won't we get lost then?"

I reached the level Hatter was on and he jumped down another ledge to wait for me.

"Nope. I know this quarry like the back of my hand. I used to hang out here as a kid." said Hatter lifting me down from above. "If you take any longer I'm going to die of old age."

* * *

We reached the bottom of the quarry after a few minutes. All I could see was whiteness, it seemed like everything was covered in snow, but none of this stuff was cold. "Who are we going to meet down here?" I ask looking around for any signs of life.

"Stop looking for people. You'll never see them out here." said Hatter walking a little ways ahead.

I followed after him and realized he had just been making his own path to walk on. "Who are we meeting?"

"Harold DeLuca, he's and old friend and he's very knowledgeable." said Hatter hacking away at the white overgrowth with his jack handle.

I followed Hatter closely for the fear of straying to far and getting lost. I understood how anyone could get lost in this quarry. Soon we arrived at a large hole in the rock face. "What is this?" I ask squinting into the hole.

"This is where Harold lives." said Hatter turning and leaning his head into the hole. "Harold! Are you in today?!"

There wasn't a response at first but then I heard a faint voice, just barely a whisper. "Go away! Only an old Hare lives here now!"

"A Hatter wishes to deliver to him his hat." said Hatter and a man came out of the hole.

The man was dressed in a black business suit and wore a purple dress shirt underneath his jacket. His hair was thick and gray, he had it pushed back on his head in two equal parts so it resembled animal ears of some sort. He was quiet tall and his back was slightly hunched, he kept his hands tucked into his jacket pockets. He had on glasses that sat at the brim of his nose and he had a very large overbite.

"Ah. Harold. Good day to you." said Hatter tipping his hat at the gentlemen. "This is Alice." he said gesturing to me.

"ALICE!? ALICE YOU SAY?!" yelled Harold squinting at me.

"Yes Harold, Alice."

"PLEASED TO MEET YOU ALICE!" said Harold grinning and showing his huge overbite. He held his hand out to me and I shook it softly. "I"M HAROLD DELUCA, BUT YOU MAY CALL ME HARE IF YOU'D LIKE!"

I winced at the sound of his voice, did he really need to scream? "Nice to meet you Hare." I say louder than usual.

"OH NO NEED TO SPEAK LOUDER DEAR! I CAN HEAR JUST FINE! I JUST HAVE TO YELL OR _**YOU**_ WOULD NEVER HEAR _**ME**_!" said Hare stepping out of the hole.

I glance over to Hatter. Hatter shrugged and looked to Hare. "We're being followed."

"I ALREADY KNOW! I COULD HEAR THOSE DAMN JOKERS FROM A WORLD AWAY!" said Hare as he pushed past us and began to walk away.

Hatter followed him and I followed Hatter. "We need to get away from them." said Hatter as we arrived in a clearing that was covered in green grass, but overhead hung a canopy of the white overgrowth.

"HOW DO YOU PROPOSE TO GO ABOUT DOING THAT?!"

"A mirror." said Hatter.

"WELL WHY DIDN'T YOU JUST SAY SO?! I HAVE AT LEAST TEN MIRRORS THAT LEAD TO THE OTHER SIDE!" The Hare had lead us to a large round table in the middle of the grassy clearing. There all sorts of food set out on the table and many chairs placed around it.

"We don't have time for lunch Harold." said Hatter as Hare sat down in a red velvet covered chair.

"NONSENSE! TIME DOES NOT APPLY HERE! YOU KNOW THAT ALL TO WELL THEOPHILUS HATTER! SIT AND EAT!" said Hare patting a chair next to him.

Hatter grabbed my arm and pulled me close to him. "Don't eat the jam, butter, or mustard." he said quietly.

"What? Why?"

"Just don't, okay?" said Hatter walking towards the table and taking a seat across from Hare. I sat next to Hatter and looked at all the food, it was fresh and seemed as though it had just been made.

"EAT!" announced Hare as he began to fill his plate with breads and fruit.

I galnced at Hatter who nodded at me to begin eating. Was this even safe to eat?

* * *

End Chapter

Don't you just love Hare? Review! Fav! Alert!

k thx bye ~yuf


	6. Chapter 6

Sixth Installment!

Disclaimer: Read first chapter....y'know

* * *

I grabbed a piece of bread that had some sort of cheese on it and then I grabbed the butter knife. Hatter was at the other end of the table getting a bowl of rice. I dipped the knife in the butter dish and spread some on the cheese bread.

"This is delicious Hare." I say looking at him as he sipped on his cup of tea.

"THANK YOU!"

"What did you find Alice?" asked Hatter as he took his place next to me, his bowl was loaded with rice and bamboo shoots with some sort of red sauce.

I hold up my bread near his face, he takes a bite. "It's good, but you should try this." he said holding up a spoon full of the contents of his bowl.

"No thanks." I said pinching my face up and shaking my head.

"You should really TRY this, Alice." smiled Hatter glancing down at my bread.

"I said no thanks Hatter."

"There's no butter in it Alice." Hatter said through his teeth.

"I didn't ask if...oh! Well then that makes it alright!" I exclaim taking the bite off of Hatter's spoon as I set the bread by the butter dish. I had completely forgotten not to take any butter, jam or mustard.

"I think it's about time we get going Harold. We really have enjoyed this meal." said Hatter setting his bowl down and standing up.

"VERY WELL THEN!" Hare said and dashed off out of sight.

"What's with the butter and stuff?" I ask looking at my bread.

"Harold is a bit crazy. For some reason he thinks those items are not food, but instead that they are used for fixing things. I had a pocket watch once, from your father, and it broke. It broke while I was here at lunch with Harold, and he tried to fix it with butter, jam and mustard. He kept exclaiming about how it would fix it and make it so that it would never break again."

"Well...um...did it work?" I question quietly.

"Of course not. It forever killed my pocket watch and left me with not even a shred of hope as to whether or not I could fix it." mumbled Hatter as Hare came back to the table.

"I REGRET TO INFORM YOU THAT ALLOF MY MIRRORS ARE CURRENTLY CHECKED OUT BY OTHER CTIZENS!"

I turn to Hatter, his face turned bright red in anger. "He always does this." he breathed under his breath.

I didn't know what he meant by that but I grab his arm to stop him just in case he lunged at the man. "Is there any other way we could get out?"

"I HAVE AN ARTIFACT THAT BELONGED TO THE QUEEN OF HEARTS. IT MAY BE OF USE TO YOU!" said Hare digging in his jacket pocket.

Hare pulled out a doorknob that had been removed from a door. It was ovular and it had a picture printed and covered by glass in the center. On the edges of the picture were gold spirals that framed it.

"What will that do? It's just a broken doorknob." I say as Hatter looks upon the item with a child like interest.

"WHEN PUT IN TO A DOORKNOB SOCKET AND TURNED RIGHT IT WILL OPEN THE SAID DOOR TO SOMEWHERE IN WONDERLAND!" screeched Hare handing the doorknob to me.

Hatter immediately took it from me and looked it over. "I don't know how he got this, but it's the only one of it's kind. It was the Queen's most treasured item, I was told she was buried with it so nobody could use it."

Hare looked about the clearing and then looked at me and Hatter. "YOU DIDN'T GET IT FROM ME!" he said and then dashed off quickly.

* * *

Hatter and I walked through the overgrowth for a while before we spoke. I played with the doorknob in my pocket and then looked up to see Hatter's back. "Why don't you call him Hare?" I asked out of the blue. The thought had been running through my head ever since we'd been introduced.

"After the watch incident we've never been on the best of terms." said Hatter as he cut out of an opening and onto a dirt road. "We're out of the quarry. Watch your back from here on out."

"But the Jokers are dead."

"They were dolls. Dolls can be fixed." said Hatter looking up and down the road. "Borough Village is this way."

Hatter began walking down the dirt road and I followed him. I felt completely useless, it was just like I was extra baggage for him. Then again, I suppose I was the reason he was doing all of this, we had to get to the Prince and settle his anger.

I saw a small cluster of buildings up ahead of us as we walked past a wooden board that was painted with the name Borough Village on it in bad hand writing.

"We're going to get some information in this village. I need you to stay quiet and keep a low profile." said Hatter as we walked in to the village. "Stay here. I'm going to get something."

I crouched down in a small bush and waited for Hatter to come back. I saw a bunch of people pass by, but they never saw me at all. I was waiting for almost twenty minutes before Hatter came back with a bunch of bags . "Come with me?" he said and pulled me up off the ground behind the bush.

We went into a small shack behind a shoe shop and he handed me all of the bags. "Get dressed." Hatter said.

"Okay..." I say digging through the bags. "Well, get out." I say shooing him away.

Hatter went out the door and shut it. I looked through the clothes, it was literally everthing I could ever need. There were pants, shirts, skirts, a sweater, a coat and a jacket some hats, socks, shoes, scarves, gloves, bras, underwear and even some jewlery. I knocked agaisnt the door. "Why'd you buy all these clothes?" I ask.

"You need to be disguised." Hatter said.

"I don't need a whole damn closet full of clothes to do that!" I yell.

"Just get dressed already."

I choose a pair of blue jeans and a gray t-shit that had DEATH WIGGLE written on it. what the hell is death wiggle? Must be some band or something...I threw on the sweater which was white and put on a pair of socks and green tennis shoes. I didn't feel the need to change my bra or underwear because it seemed to awkward. I opened the door and showed Hatter my outfit.

"Great. Now lets go." he said walking off.

"Wait! What about the other clothes?" I ask pointing into the shack.

"Leave'em. Oh and one more thing." said Hatter walking briskly up to me and grabbing my long brown hair.

"Hatter! What the hell do you think.." I was cut off when I heard a tearing sound and then his grip was gone. I turned around slowly and saw my hair on the ground by his feet. Subconsciously I reached up to my head and felt my hair, it was up to my jaw. It used to be down by the back of my rib cage.

"We have to go." said Hatter dropping his handful of hair. I watched it fall to the ground slowly and then tears began to well up in my eyes.

"M-my hair..."

"What? It's just hair, it'll grow back. Come on, the Jokers are bound to show up soon, and I still have to change clothes." said Hatter taking off his jacket and whipping off his belt.

I nod quietly. He's a guy, he wouldn't understand, to him it's nothing. So it's not use getting mad at him for it. "Can you go in a the shed and strip please."

"What?" asked Hatter, halfway done unbuttoning his shirt. "Oh. Yeah, sorry."

Hatter went in the shack and wasn't even in there for mroe than a few minutes before he came out looking like a completely different person. He wore a black suede jacket and baggy blue jeans. His shirt was white and had a slight v-neck at the collar, his usual hat was replaced with a black beanie cap.

"You brushed your hair?" I asked walking up to him and inspecting the small pony tail coming out the back of his beanie.

* * *

We walked out onto the street and looked around, no sign of the Jokers or any Cards for that matter. Hatter reached into my pocket and then removed his hand, but the weight stayed the same. I put my hand in the packet and felt the back end of a pistol. I looked up at him quickly.

"I bought it when I got the clothes." said Hatter as we turned into an unmarked shop at the edge of the village. "Wait out here."

Again, I got the job of waiting. I sighed loudly and waited by the door until Hater came out. "I got some information on a place where we could get a mirror." he said and we started back out onto the dirt road going out of the village now. "I alos bartered a gun off of the shopkeeper." he said motioning to his back.

Oh his back was a double barrel shot gun strapped to a leather cord that layed across his chest for carrying. "Just what will we have to deal with?" I asked.

"Cards are a tough bunch. Not only are they after you, but so are the Jokers. Right now, you are the most wanted person in Wonderland."

"Why not just let them take me to the Prince?" I ask, finally realizing that it would have been easyier to just do that in the first place.

"Why not? Well, when the Cards get ahold of you, their going to take you to the Prince, and dispose of me. He will then think they are lying and when you tell him your father is dead, he won't believe you." Hatter said looking down at me.

"Why will they believe me if I'm with you then?"

"The Prince knows that your father and I were close, so he'd expect you to be with me, but if the Jokers catch us, then I die. If the Cards catch us, they will just ignore me and take you, they aren't exactly smart. If you show up with me then that ensures he knows that you are Alice O'malley and that you are in fact not lying about your father's death."

"Then why doesn't the Prince just send the Cards to get you too?"

"The Prince is not a smart boy Alice. He was spoiled rotten and refuses to hear out the ideas of his advisers." said Hatter.

We turned down a tree covered road and I saw a large stone buidling up on five foot brick stilts. The sign by the door read "WHITE RABBIT INN".

* * *

End Chapter

Review! Tell me all your thoughts!

k thx bye ~ yuf


	7. Chapter 7

Seventh Installment

Disclaimer: Why do I even put this here anymore????

Minor Swearing

* * *

"White Rabbit? Like, the same one from the book?" I ask pulling Hatter back by his sleeve.

"It's owned by White Rabbit and the guy is like a billion years old, so it could be the same guy." shrugged Hatter.

I saw a group of men in business suits come out of the building. There were three of them, two were the same height and looked like the sleazy assholes who pick up prostitutes on the streets. The other man was familiar, he was quiet tall and had his hands in his pockets. It was Hare! "Hey, Hatter, isn't that Hare?" I ask pointing at the group who had now come to a stop with their back facing us. Hatter looked up at them and then pulled me into a clump of trees.

"What is he doing here?" I whisper to Hatter.

"I don't know, but the men are the prince's advisers. Keep quiet, their coming."

I could have kept quiet just fine if there weren't something stabbing me in the leg. I tried shifting to see if I could get it out of my leg, but it was no use, Hatter just held his arm tight around my back. The men had stopped again, this time they were just on the other side of our clump of trees.

"So you're sure they would come this way?" said one of them men, for name sake let's call him One and the other Two.

"_Positive." _said Hare in a tone so low only a dog could hear it. I now understood why he had to yell in regular conversation.

"Then we will wait in the inn. Thank you for you're cooperation Sir DeLuca." said Two, how he could have heard him I would never know.

We heard the two men walk back to the inn. I was about to get up when Hatter tightened his grasp. "Wait." The screen door of the inn slammed shut and Hatter stood up. "They aren't stupid like Cards, Alice. The knew someone was listening, so they waited before going into the building."

"Now what do we do? The inn is where the mirror is, isn't it?" I ask, still crouched in the trees.

"I have some business with Harold." Hatter said following the road while still in the trees.

"You can't just leave me here!"

"Come with then, but if you don't want to see a shredded bloody body, then stay here." said Hatter taking the shotgun off his back and cocking it.

"Why are you so mad about this?" I ask catching up to him and holding the pistol in my pocket.

"This isn't the first time he's betrayed me." scowled Hatter as he looked out of the trees and at the road. I could see Hare ahead, near the opening of the tree path.

"What happened before?"

"Not important, don't ask."

"Hatter, come on, what happened before?" I ask stepping in front of him.

"I said don't ask!" Hatter yelled pushing me out of the way. I was prepared for the push and so I landed against a tree.

"Asshole." I murmur to myself as I tail him at a distance.

* * *

We followed Hare off of the road and into a whole other forest. It had been nearly half an hour, or so I guessed, and Hatter still hadn't made a move on Hare. "This is pointless." I say sitting again a tree.

"I'm waiting for the right moment." said Hatter leaning against a tree a few feet ahead of mine.

"I'm going to die of old age before that happens."

I looked up where Hare had stopped to rest, quiet aways in front of us. Did he know we were following him? Suddenly he dropped to the ground, his knees buckling under him as if he'd been kicked from behind. Hatter slipped behind his tree and I did the same. Both of us peeked out and saw blood oozing from Hare's head, it covered his face and flowed out on to the ground. A clean shot.

"Sniper Rifle" I mouthed to Hatter and he nodded in return.

We both searched the trees above us for the shooter. I saw nothing, but Hatter had spotted something to his left. I crept around my tree so that I could see better. I didn't see anything at all, just trees and leaves.

"Snake! Are you there?!" Hatter yelled at the top of his lungs, eyes still deadlocked on the non-existent object.

A voice in the distance called, "I read you Otter! This is Snake!"

A man came running from the trees in the distance. He arrived between our trees in a few moments. He was taller than Hatter by about and inch or two, but I paid no real thought to that. What caught me, was the fact that this man was the spitting image of Hatter himself. He wore skinny jeans with old and tattered Converse high tops that were partially untied at the tops and the loose laces were wrapped around his ankles. He had on a gray t-shirt with a brown light jacket. His hair was considerably longer, and was set in a low pony tail that went down his back and stopped at his tail bone. He wore a hat just like Hatter's old one.

"Who the hell are you?" I ask after undressing him with my eyes.

"Matthew James Hatter." he said holding his hand out to me.

I ignored his hand and turned to Hatter. "Who?"

"He's my twin brother." said Hatter quietly.

"Matt Hatter. Seems like you two should have switched names. He's called the Mad Hatter, and your name is Matt Hatter. Just seems like it Mad Hatter should be your name." I said to Matthew, I hoped it was okay to call him Matt.

"He's the one who's bat-shit crazy. I agree, he should be called the Mad Hatter." said Hatter laughing quietly to himself.

Matt rolled his eyes and turned towards his brother. "I have a few questions for you. First, why are you chasing Harold DeLuca? Second, why are you traveling with this girl, and finally, why are there Jokers after you?"

"Well...This is Alice."

I wave quickly and then look back to Hatter.

"Harold has double crossed me for the second time, and it was about time he died." said Hatter glaring at his brother. "I'd like to know why you just sniped him."

"You still have one more question to answer Theophilus. Why are there Jokers after you?"

"They're trying to kill me, and kidnap her." said Hatter jabbing his thumb in my general direction.

"I killed Harold because he stole something very important to me and I think he's pawned it off." said Matt looking around the area quickly, as if he was expecting a person to jump out of the thin air.

"You killed him before getting the location of your item?" I ask scratching my head.

"He told me he pawned it off, I'd spoke with him about it before."

Hatter looked at the ground. "What was it Matt?" he asked quietly.

"The Queen of Hearts' door to Wonderland."

"The handle! Hatter the handle!" I yell and lunge for his pocket to dig it out. I grab it and hand it to Matt who looks it over, a devilish grin crept across his face.

"Good work little brother." he said, that grin plastered to his face.

I knew that grin, it was the one that was on the face of the Cheshire Cat in the book. I took a few steps back from Matt and pushed myself against a tree. "H-Hatter."

"That's not my brother Alice. Run!" yelled Hatter.

I looked for only a split second at the sheer terror on Hatter's face before I hit the ground running.

* * *

END CHAPTER

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	8. Chapter 8

Eighth Installment!

Read on! tell your friends!

Oh, I also have this posted on FictionPressdotcom. For those of you who don't know what that is, it is another site hosted by the same people who made Fanfiction, but instead it's for your own stories that aren't fanfics. I might move the story all over there, but I haven't yet decided.

* * *

The tree whipped by me as I ran in the direction of the inn, my jacket had become caught on a tree limb so I took it off. Branches tore at my legs and lashed my arms, leaving small bloody trails behinds that ran down my arms. Greens, yellows, reds, oranges all became one blurred color as I battled the forest for a road of some sort.

I huffed and puffed, trying to catch my breath. Once I was sure I was far enough away from the impostor to take a rest, I leaned against a mossy oak tree and hung my head down. I sure wish I had some water. Was Hatter okay? Did that guy kill him? There was no time to worry now, that guy would definitely be after me. I didn't want to have to encounter him, the Cheshire Cat, of all people.

It was then I realized I was running around unarmed. The gun was in the jacket pocket, all I had now was a cell phone without a signal, what a great defense weapon. I pulled my phone out and held it tight, ready to throw it at any minute. What did I care about a cell phone here in Wonderland for anyways, they didn't have such an item, so of course I'd have no signal and it's about to die anyways.

Maybe if I smashed someone over the head with it, it would knock them senseless for just long enough for me to run away. What a great attack plan...

I heard a shuffling behind me so I spun around to see nothing there. I heard it again and looked closer. A squirrel hopped out of the fallen leaves and scurried up a tree. Man was I jumpy.

I high pitched beep sounded and I jumped nearly a foot in the air. My eyes darted every which way before I realized it was my own cell phone making the noise. It was ringing. How? It was nearly dead and there weren't any cell phone towers to give off a signal in the first place. How could it be ringing? It stopped after I'd decided I wasn't going to answer it.

"One new message." popped up on the screen, I clicked the open button and it opened.

Unknown Number  
answer the phone alice.

I looked at the phone as if it had just come to life and spoken to me. "What?" I asked aloud.

"One new message." popped up again, and again I opened it.

Unknown Number  
i said answer the phone alice

I looked all around but saw nobody there. The phone rang again, and this time I hesitantly answered it.

"H-Hello?"

"I'm going to give you directions." said the voice on the other end.

"Who is this?!" I demand, my eyes scanning the area over.

"You need to listen to me or Theophilus Hatter will die."

It was the Cheshire Cat, and he had Hatter, alive. "What do you want?"

"You need to get on to the dirt road outside of the White Rabbit Inn. Then go south into the forest following the path. You will come to a marker in the road that points in six different directions. You need to go back the way you came and then turn right onto a stone walkway. At the end of this walkway is a house, go inside it. I'll call you again Alice."

I tried to remember everything, but it was so complicated. If I had to go to the sign and then go back, why not just turn before? I think this is some sort of game, had Hatter's life not been on the line, I'd have called the Cheshire Cat crazy and told him to shove his directions up his ass.

* * *

I reached the dirt road and saw the inn across from me. He said head south, okay. So I went south into the woods on the road. I got darker as I proceeded. Where was this sign anyways?I swear the trees are going to make this place as dark as night.

Then I saw it, a sign with six different directions on it, each way was labeled differently. Left Road, Right Road, Front Road, Up Road, Down Road, and the final one said, This Sign is Pointless.

Turn around and go back the way I came, look for a stone walkway.

I turned around and headed back the way I came. I didn't see a stone walkway before I got to the sign. Only a few feet from the sign there was a pearly white stone walkway.

"That was not there before!" I yelled pointing at the white stones that made up the path.

Go into the house at the end.

I walked along the path and up to the house. It wasn't a house it was a huge estate! The path lead up to a small portion of the house that was sectioned off, much like the mudroom at my grandma's house. I looked around the small room and didn't see much but some coat hooks and an end table with a bunch of strange trinkets on it. Soft music played from somewhere above me.

There was a door at the end of the small room but I didn't want to go through it. The Cheshire Cat had just told me to go inside the house and wait for his further instruction. I was in the house, and still waiting.

My cell phone rang and instantaneously I answered it. "Hello."

"Welcome to my home Alice."

His home? I had just walked into his trap, quiet literally. Great, now I was in his house. I turned and grabbed the door handle to let myself out, but it was locked. "Let me out!" I yelled into the phone.

"Won't you sit with me a while? You just got here."

"What do you want with me anyways!?" I scream looking around the room like a trapped animal.

"No need to shout. I just want to talk. Go through the other door and I'll have an escort meet you."

I didn't have any other choice than to listen to him, so I went to the other door and opened it. The room I had just entered must have been the foyer. It was huge and seemed very warm and inviting. The walls were the color of leaves in autumn, there were two sets of stairs that lead up to a balcony. There weren't any windows in this room, but instead the light that seemed so natural came form a huge chandelier covered in what looked to be thousands of garnets.

"Who are you?" I ask quietly, the phone still at my ear.

There wasn't an answer, the line was silent so I shut the phone and set it in my pocket. A woman who looked at be about my age came rushing over to me and grabbed my hand.

"I'm Mary Ann. The Master asked me to escort you to his room."

I look down at the woman and see she looks rather frightened. "Are you alright?"

"I'm fine. Come on!" she smiled halfheartedly while pulling my arm towards the staircases.

I followed her up the stairs and across the balcony. We went down a hall and she stopped outside of a huge set of oaken double doors. She rapped on the door sharply.

"It's open." called a voice from inside.

The woman called Mary Ann opened the left door and pushed me inside, not bothering to come in after me.

I glanced around, the room was rather dark. I could make out a bit of light coming from a heavily covered window. The out line of a large four poster bed stood in front of me. I could see a large lump on the bed as my eyes began to adjust.

"Having trouble seeing?" called a voice from the bed.

I had been debating opening the curtain when the voice caught me off guard. I looked back over at the bed and saw glowing amber eyes looking at me. I could hear him mumbling to himself, or maybe it was someone else on the bed. The bed creaked softly as four people got off of it and walked past me, I think they were all women.

"Come sit with me." he said and I could hear a patting on the bed.

That was the last thing I ever wanted to do, he was such a player, four women in your bed, come on!

"Reluctant? I'll come to you then." he said in an irritated voice and I heard the bed creek softly again, and I could see his figure coming towards me.

I backed up against the door. "Don't touch me Cheshire." I said as he slowly walked closer.

"Cheshire? I haven't been called that since I was young. My name is Caus." he purred, his body suddenly next to me. His stomach brushed my arm and I could tell he was shirtless. God I hope he had pants on or something.

"Don't touch me. What did you want to talk about?" I demand turning my head so that my cheek was pushed into the door.

He laughed and grabbed my hand, leading me reluctantly over to the bed. "I want make a deal with you."

* * *

END CHAPTER

REVIEW!

SIDE NOTE: If anyone is wondering how I got The Cheshire Cat's name, it is actually Egyptian for 'jungle cat' get it, because he's such a player, top of the game, like a jungle cat. It is pronounced like chaos.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

There's a lot of Dialogue in this chapter.

* * *

I inched to the very edge of the bed. "I don't make deals with kidnappers."

"You're lucky I let him live. I was originally just going to have my dolls kill him." said Caus as he flipped on a lamp that dangled over the top of the four poster bed. The light was dim but just enough for me to see him clearly.

He had medium length brown hair that was tinted a blood red color on the ends. It reminded me of the skater kid who lived up the street from my house. His eyes were an amber yellow color and he was clearly naked, his waist was covered though. The most peculiar thing about him were the ears that sat upon his head. They were that of a cat, I didn't even notice that he lacked regular human ears when I'd first looked at him. Both of his ears were the same color as his hair and they were pierced in several places. Most of the piercings were just small hoops but the right side of his right ear held a small ruby heart, a black spade, a gold club and a silver diamond.

"Can you stop staring at my ears. It's rude." he said putting his hands over his ears.

It really shouldn't have surprised me that he had cat ears. He was the Cheshire cat after all, or Caus, whatever he was he was still supposedly a cat. I could see a J on either wrist while he covered his ears. One looked like an old Gothic letter from a scripture and the other was made out of a rose stem.

"I said stop staring!" he yelled and I looked away.

"What do you mean you're dolls?" I ask as I realize that he had said something about a doll.

"The Jokers, I was going to have them bring you to me and kill Hatter." he said grinning as he crawled a little closer to me.

The Jokers must be the reasons for the J's on his wrists. "Why were you going to kill Hatter?"

"He got in the way of my plans at the palace."

"You're plans? What palace?" I ask.

"The Prince's palace. I was trying to kill the prince." grinned Caus.

"Why?"

"I want to take his throne." said Caus as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Well how are you going to do that?"

"That's why I need you. I need you to kill him, you're on your way to see him aren't you?"

"I'm not going to kill him." I said standing up and walking towards the doors.

The lock on the door clicked and I couldn't open the doors. I turned back to Caus, and he just sat there looking at me, grinning devilishly.

"Let me out."

"Please Alice." he said looking at me.

"No. I won't kill the prince."

He got up and came over to me, standing only inches from my face, he grinned. "Please Alice. Kill the prince for me."

"No." I muttered as his eyes locked on to mine.

"Alice." he purred touching my cheek lightly.

"Yes Caus?" I asked with out thinking.

"Kill the Prince."

"Yes." I said smiling involuntarily.

_What's going on?! I can't control my body at all! I'm not going to kill the prince! This is all like a bad dream._

Suddenly everything went dark and I woke up in a dim bedroom. "Hello?" I called out.

No answer.

"Good morning Alice." It was Caus.

"Where are you?!" I demand looking around wildly.

"Oh, don't worry, I'm not in your room. I'm just in your head, telling you what to do." Caus cackled.

"How!?"

"Your earring." he said.

"My ears aren't pierced!" I yell reaching up and touching the tender piercing. It was in the shape of an A. I tried to take it out but couldn't.

"It's no use trying to remove it. It's a solid bar with a definite end. It'll never come out."

"I'll get it out." I growl pulling at it. Suddenly my arm flew down to the bed and became glued there.

"Oh, I can control your actions by the way. You can either cooperate, or I can force you to do everything."

"If I cooperate, will you take it out?" I ask still unable to move my arm off of the bed.

"Nope. I can't risk you double crossing me."

I cursed to myself. He's smart, and I don't think I'll be able to get out of his clutches until I've done what he's asked. "Where's Hatter?"

"Look on your bed." said Caus his voice growing faint. I assumed he was gone, for now.

I turned on the bed and saw a large mass laying under a black velvet sheet. It was Hatter, he was laying on his back with his head turned opposite me, his shoulders were uncovered and I could see he was topless. I pulled the sheet down a little ways and exposed his chest. He was thin but damn was he built.

Wait. Why was he shirtless? Why was he in my room, or was I in his? "Pst! Hatter. Hatter!" I say nudging his with my elbow.

"Mmmnnn, what Alice?" He mumbled, slowly opening one eye.

"Why are you shirtless?" I ask.

"I dunno."

"Why are you in my bed?!" I demand as he sits up on his elbows.

"I dunno...what are you wearing?" he asked, looking me over.

I looked down and saw that I was in a thin silk night gown. "What is this shit?!" I scream pulling the blankets up over my body.

Hatter grinned and shook his head lightly.

"Stop smiling! Where are we?"

Hatter looked around the room and then over at the door. "Judging by the white rabbit on the door, I'd guess this is the White Rabbit Inn."

I looked over at the door and saw a small emblem of a white rabbit on it. How did we get here?

* * *

Sorry about all the dialogue. It was nessasary.

Review!!!!

k thx bye ~ Yuf


	10. Chapter 10

TENTH INSTALLMENT PEOPLE!

I am really going places with this story. I'm in the double digits! Whoo whooo!

Read on.

* * *

Hatter got up and stretched. I got up and stretched as well, when I looked over I was frontally flashed.

"WHY ARE YOU NAKED?!" I screamed starring at his junk. Why I didn't look away, I have no idea. I think I was honestly in to much shock to clearly think at the time.

"WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME!?" yelled Hatter snatching a blanket off of the bed and covering himself.

I crouched down and stuck my head between my knees in the fetal position. "WHY ARE YOU NAKED?! I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT'S GOING ON!"

"WHY AM I NAKED?!" yelled Hatter, apparently he was as confused as I was.

There was a loud impatient knock on the door and I jerked my head up towards it.

"Is everything okay in there?" called a male voice from the other side.

I got up and went to the door, opening it just enough to see out of it, as to reserve and dignity Hatter might have left. "Who are you?"

"I'm Pat. The receptionist. Is everything okay?"

"Yes."

"We have had several complaints from this room since last night." said the man. He looked to be about thirty or so, brown hair and brown eyes, nothing to exciting.

"Um, what sort of complaints?" I ask hesitantly. I didn't remember being in this room before I woke up.

"Loud noises, yelling, fighting."

"Oh. I'm very sorry." I said.

The man rolled his eyes and turned to walk down the hall.

I closed the door and faced Hatter who was now dressed in some blue jeans and a t-shirt. "Loud noises?" I ask looking him up and down.

"Don't look at me! I don't know what it was."

"Forget it." I said looking around for a change of clothes.

Hatter walked up to me and began inspecting my ear. "When did you get your ear pierced?" he ask flicking the earring.

"It was Caus." I mutter.

Hatter grabs it and pulls slightly. "This is going to hurt." he said and jerked it quickly out of my ear.

There was a blinding pain and then red hot heat rushed to my ear. I could feel wetness pooling on my shoulder and I reached up to touch my ear. I pulled my hand away and it was covered in blood. He ripped the earring out, literally ripped it out of my ear! Pain began to set in and I bit my lip till it became more painful than my ear. I grabbed the sheet, ripped off the corner, and pressed it to my ear. God Damn did it sting!

"I'm sorry. He'll control you with that if you have it attached." said Hatter throwing the earring onto a dresser nearby.

"I know, but-" I watched the earring bounce off the wood of the dresser and disappear into the mirror. "Did you see that?"

Hatter turned towards the dresser. "What?"

"The earring, it just went through the mirror. Hatter, it's a mirror to my world!" I say jumping up and down pointing at the dresser. I'm sure I looked insane jumping up and down, dressed in a silk nightgown and holding a blood rag to my ear.

Hatter went up to the dresser and touched the glass, his hand went straight through. "I don't believe it."

"I need to go home. I'm sure Grandma and David are worried about me." I said as I approached the mirror and pushed all the crap off of the dresser top.

"You have to go to the prince though." said Hatter holding the back of my nightgown.

"I know, but first I have to go home and tell everyone I'm on vacation or something."

"You don't even know where this mirror goes. It could go anywhere in your world." said Hatter, still holding my nightgown.

"I don't care, I'll find my way home. I have to go Hatter." I plead and pull my nightgown out of his grasp and then drop the blood makeshift rag.

"I'm going with you then." said Hatter.

"Fine."

I got on the dresser and crawled through the mirror. It was cold like ice water and I held my breath, I could see lights spiraling all around me. I smashed into the ground. I looked around the room I landed in, it was dusty like an attic. Hatter came through right after me and he landed on his feet, looked around and acted like he hadn't just spiraled through a freezing abyss.

"So, where are we?" he asked.

"I don't know. It appears to be some sort of attic." I say standing up and nearly hitting a rafter. "Definitely an attic."

"So, look for a door of some sort?" Hatter asked glancing around the dimly lit room.

"Exactly."

I wandered around for a bit and eventually stepped over a hollow area, it was a door on the floor. A string dangled down in my face, so I pulled on it. A light bulb illuminated the entire attic, and boy was it big. There was all sorts of stuff piled up every which way.

Hatter was looking at a small ring box and then he turned and walked towards me.

"What's that?" I ask pointing at the small item.

"Look at the top of it." he said pointing to an emblem on the surface. It had a heart shaped backdrop with a large W over it. Each top point of the W was a different symbol, a spade, a diamond, and a club.

"Is it from Wonderland?" I ask tracing the design with my finger.

"It was the Queen of Hearts' before she died, it was one of the items she was burried with." said Hatter.

"What's in it?" I ask flipping it open. A large silver ring with a huge ruby sat in the center of the box.

"It was her wedding ring." whispered Hatter.

I glance up at him and then back at the ring. "Why is it in this attic?"

"The people who own this place have been to Wonderland, or they are from Wonderland. We better watch our backs." warned Hatter as he closed the box and slipped it into his pocket.

* * *

END CHAPTER

Ohhhhhhh....who's home is this? Why do they have Wonderland artifacts???

Review!


	11. Chapter 11

Eleventh Installment

Events begin to unfold....dun dun dunnnnananaananann!!

* * *

I felt around on the ground until I found a string and pulled up on it to open the door. The light below wasn't blinding, in fact it was as dark as the attic had been. I dropped down into the dark area and felt around. It was a very small closet.

Hatter dropped down right after me and the space became instantly cramped. I was pushed against a wall with his hips pushing against my stomach. I never realized how much shorter I was.

"Feel for a doorknob." I say feeling along the walls.

Hatter reached around and his hand landed on my breast.

"That's not a doorknob you jackass." I hiss and bite his arm.

He just laughed a little bit and felt up the walls instead. "Found it." he said.

"Turn it slowly and quietly. We don't know if this opens into a bedroom or something."

Hatter turned the doorknob and the door opened quietly as I stepped out. I rubbed my eyes to get used to the light from a nearby window.

"Ah! Fuck!" Hatter hissed shielding his eyes.

"Shh!"

I looked around the room and then it hit me light a freight train, this room was familiar. I went over to the dresser that was under the window directly across from the closet. I opened the bottom drawer and found a pair of green skinny jeans. I opened the second drawer and found three black t-shirts and a purple sweater. I pulled the sweater out and it had a raindeer sewed on it. These were all my clothes. This was my grandma's house.

"Hatter. This is my grandma's house." I whisper and turn to see Hatter sitting in the closet. "What are you doing?"

"The sun is to bright. Your grandma? Why would she have the queen's ring?" he asked.

"I don't know. I need to change. Turn around."

Hatter turned to face the back wall of the closet and I put on my green skinny jeans and a black t-shit from the dresser. I snatch a pair of tennis shoes from under the bed and pull them on. Hatter turned back to face me.

"Do I get shoes?" he asked looking at his bare feet.

"Uhh...what size do you wear?" I ask getting on the floor to get under the bed.

"13."

"In men's?!"

"No, in children's...of course in men's!"

I dug under the bed. There was plenty of junk from my grandfather that my grandma stuffed under here. I pulled out a pair of old hiking boots and checked the imprint on the soul. "Size 12."

"Fine." Hater said catching the boots as I threw them to him. He pulled them on and I opened the bedroom door and peeked out.

I didn't see my grandma in the hall or in the living room. I snuck across the hall and peeked in her bedroom, she was passed out on the bed. I went back to my bedroom and peeked in at Hatter. "If we creep down to the front door and make it look like we just arrived, she won't wonder why I'm suddenly in her house."

"We need to know why she knows about Wonderland." said Hatter pushing the door open on me.

"I know, but in good time. Come on."

I walked down the hall with Hatter behind me. We got down to the front door and I opened it and slammed it shut. "Hey, Grandma!" I yelled just like I had been coming over for a visit.

There wasn't a response. "Go sit in the kitchen Hatter." I went back to my grandma's room and shook her shoulder lightly. "Hey grandma."

She woke up with a start and looked up at me smiling. "Oh, hello Alice. Where have you been lately?" she asked sitting up on the edge of the bed.

"My phone was disconnected. I've been really busy with school as well." I lied and helped her stand up.

"It's so nice you dropped by." Grandma said while she teetered out of the room.

I followed at her side. "I brought a friend of mine over. I hope that's okay."

"Oh that's just fine. The more the merrier!" smiled grandma as she round the corner and into the kitchen.

When she saw Hatter she backed up against the fridge and clasped her hand over her mouth.

Hatter flailed in his chair, flipped backwards, and stood up with his hand over his heart. He bowed quickly. "Queen Heart." he said quietly.

"S-sir Theophilus H-hatter...I-I never..." sputtered Grandma.

I looked at the nealy comical scene unfolding in front of me. I didn't understand what was going on. "What?"

Hatter continued to bow and Grandma continued to stare at him as though she'd seen a ghost.

"I don't understand. Someone tell me what's going on." I said pulling Grandma's hand from her mouth. "Talk Grandma."

"Alice. Can I talk to you outside for a second?" Hatter asked gesturing towards the patio door behind him.

I walked out onto the patio with him and he shut the door behind him. "Why did you tell me your Grandma was the Queen of Hearts?!" He yelled.

I covered my ears and then looked up at him. "I don't know what your talking about. You said she was dead, how is my grandma the queen?"

"I don't know, but she is dead. Well she's supposed to be dead! I don't know why she's here, or what's going on!" Hatter said and pulled at his hair.

"Why did she call you Sir?"

Hatter looked down at me. "I was a knight a long time ago."

"How long ago? You aren't even that old!" I yell throwing my hands in the air. Could my life get anymore complicated?

"When I was 18. I was the last knight she swore under and I was her personal guard. I was fired three years before she died, and nobody could give me a reason. I found out that Harold, who was an Ace at the time, had given the order."

"That's why you didn't like him. That's why you didn't call him Hare, isn't it." I asked as Hatter sits down on a lopsided law chair.

"Yeah. I wasn't even allowed to go to her funeral, but Harold was."

I set my hand on his shoulder, he was clearly upset. "How do you know that she was burried with all of her stuff then?"

"When royalty dies in Wonderland, all of thier possesions are burried with them." said Hatter shrugging my hand off his shoulder.

My grandma opened the door and poked her head out. "We need to talk." she said very seriously and then shut the door.

Maybe she could clear up all of the confusion surrounding the situation...

* * *

END CHAPTER

Ohhhh....why is the queen still alive?

Review~


	12. Chapter 12

12th Installment!

second one today =]

I apologize for the lengthy conversations.

* * *

"Just a minute Grandma." I say and she closes the door.

"Who's mother is she?" asks Hatter.

"My fathers."

"Then your father is the prince?" asked Hatter.

"My father is dead, I saw him in his casket. It's not possible."

Grandma rapped on the door and motioned for us to come inside. I held up my finger as to tell her we needed another second. She banged on the door with her fist and shook her head furiously.

Hatter opened the door and let me inside. "What Grandma?"

"Sit down." she demanded gesturing to the empty chairs placed around the dining table.

I took a seat and then Hatter sat down next to me.

"I don't know how you two have come to meet each other, but that doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that he thinks I'm dead." Grandma said pointing at Hatter.

"Ma'am, I don't understand why you are not dead. I mean that will all respect." said Hatter.

"I never died Theophilus. I ran away from Wonderland."

"But why?! You left so many people devastated, and have you seen what the prince has been doing?!" yelled Hatter.

Grandma glared at him and took a seat across from us. "I have not seen what he's been doing, that is not my life any more."

"But-"

"Be quiet! I'll explain everything if you'd shut your damn trap!" yelled Grandma as she slapped her hand on the table. It took a lot to get my Grandma to curse out loud.

"Please, explain Grandma." I said punching Hatter in the leg under the table.

"Many years ago I was the Queen of Wonderland. I found a mirror that took me to this world when I was 18, and here I met a man whom I had a child. Your grandfather, and I had your father."

I nodded and looked over at Hatter who was as stiff as a board.

"Your grandfather worked and I took care of your dad everyday. Everyday I would take your father to Wonderland with me and we would play there until your grandfather came home. I live this secret life until your father turned 18 and moved away. Your grandfather died very early of a heartattack on your father's 20th birthday. It was then that I returned to Wonderland and met Arthur, who became the King of Hearts. At 38 years old I had Ryan who is now the prince."

"Wow...you've live quiet the exciting life Grandma." I said and glanced at Hatter to make sure he was still being quiet.

"I'm not finished. I came home to this world every week or so to take care of the house for about four years or so and one day I recived a call. It was from your father, and he was getting married to your mother. I attended the wedding and that was where he told me that he would be moving into a new house several blocks from my own. He also broke the news that your mother was pregnant. Now, wanting to be there for my son in this world and for my grand child as well, I had to make a choice. I had to choose to remain in one world or another."

"And you chose to stay here?" I ask.

"Not at first. I had to tell your father about his brother, he would understand about Wonderland because he went there when he was much younger. When I told him he mentioned about working for the government. He said they were trying to cut off all ties to Wonderland because they thought it to be a threat of nation security. When I went to go back to Wonderland my mirror had been packed away and whenI reached through all I could feel was a shallow wooden box so I could not get through. I was trapped here for the rest of my life."

"Hatter said my father used to visit Wonderland and visit the prince. It was because he was his brother. Then when I got older, he left his brother and paid more attention to me. He didn't ever go back and then when he was going to go back, the government foundout he had one of the mirrors and killed him and my mother." I said.

"They said you died six years after I was fired." said Hatter, speaking for the first time since he was told to shut up.

"You were fired right after I went missing, weren't you?" asked Grandma.

"Y-yeah. I was."

Grandma rubbed her temples. "They wouldn't have wanted anyone other than the Cards and royalty to know I was missing. They must have dragged it on for six years, and then declared me dead."

"Wait, your mirror was cut off? We just came through it." I said.

"Well, last year it came back to life. I think someone on the other side must have found it and removed it from the box."

"Did you go through it?" asked Hatter.

"Of course."

"Where did it come out?" I ask.

"It was in the White Quarry. I'm not sure who had it, but they had all of my other possessions as well." said Grandma grabbing at the necklace around her neck.

"Harold robbed your grave." said Hatter gritting his teeth.

"Harold DeLuca? How do you know that?" asked Grandma, a stunned look on her face.

"He gave us the doorknob that unlocks doors to Wonderland. It was buried in your grave, he was an Ace at the time. That means he would have known where your grave was." growled Hatter.

"You said the mirror was in the White Quarry?" I asked Grandma and she nodded.

"It all fits." muttered Hatter.

"That bastard." said Grandma clenching her teeth together.

"You took everything that was yours and brought it back, didn't you?" I ask as I reach into Hatter's pocket and take out the ring box.

"Damn right I did."

"How did the mirror get to the White Rabbit Inn?" I asked nobody in particular as I handed Grandma the ring box.

Grandma took the box and traced the design on the top of it.

"Harold must have pawned it off to White. He probably owed him big time for something and thought that it would cover it." said Hatter.

"That must have been why Harold was at the White Rabbit Inn when we arrived. He was paying back his debt, and tipping off the advisers in the process." I say as I begin to put the pieces together.

Grandma just watched as the two of us as we began to figure out just what was going on in Wonderland.

"Why did Caus, controlling my brother, kill Harold?" asked Hatter.

I thought about it for a second and then an idea hit me. "What if, what if White Rabbit is in cahoots with Caus. What if Harold did something, or, or knew something he wasn't supposed to, and so Caus had your brother kill him off?"

"That is so crazy that it makes sense." smiled Hatter.

We were figuring out the dark history and evil plans for Wonderland as we spoke. With Grandma, maybe we could remove the prince from power, take down Caus and restore order to Wonderland.

* * *

End Chapter

Again, sorry for the lengthy conversations.

review!


	13. IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT

!!!Very important announcement!!!

I will be re-uploading this story because I have revised and re-written it.

I promise it will be ten times better.

Please, all faithful watcher and readers, do not be afraid of the change!

K thx bye ~yuf


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